How to Make a Garden Trellis

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How to Make a Garden Trellis

Overview

A garden trellis can be more than a way to support flowering vines, grapes or blackberries. It can also add dimension to your outdoor space. Make a decorative copper garden trellis, using plumbing supplies that you can paint to coordinate with your outdoor décor. Stand the fence-style trellis alongside a patio or as a border for a section of property. You can also use a trellis to separate tracts in your garden.

Step 1

Measure and cut four seven-foot lengths of PVC pipe with a measuring tape and pipe cutter. These pipes are the vertical supports for the garden trellis. Measure and cut one nine-foot-long section of PVC pipe. This is the top horizontal support for the garden trellis. Measure and cut three three-foot-long sections of PVC pipe. These pipes are the middle horizontal supports for the trellis.

Step 2

Swab the inside of one of the openings of one PVC elbow fitting with PVC primer. Swab the same primer onto the outside end of one of the seven-foot-long pipes. Wait 10 seconds. Cover the same areas with PVC cement. Insert the end of the seven-foot pipe into the elbow fitting and hold it together for 15 seconds.

Step 3

Swab the inside of the second opening on the same elbow fitting with PVC primer. Swab the outside of one end of the nine-foot-long pipe with primer. Wait 10 seconds. Cover the same areas with PVC cement. Insert the end of the nine-foot-long pipe into the elbow fitting; hold it for 15 seconds.

Step 4

Slide two slip-T fittings over the open end of the nine-foot-long pipe. Position the first slip-T fitting three feet from the attached elbow fitting. Position the second slip-T fitting three feet away from the first slip-T fitting. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to complete the outside frame of the garden trellis.

Step 5

Slide a slip-T fitting over the open end of each of the seven-foot-long sections at the end of the nine-foot-long pipe. Position each slip-T fitting three feet from the elbow fitting.

Step 6

Attach a three-foot-long section of pipe into the opening on the slip-T fitting attached to each of the seven-foot-long end pipes, using the same primer and cement process.

Step 7

Slide one PVC slip cross fitting over each of the remaining seven-foot-long pipes that are not yet attached to the trellis structure. Connect a three-foot-long section of PVC pipe to the cross openings on each seven-foot-long pipe, using primer and PVC cement. This will join the two pipes together in an H formation.

Step 8

Insert the top of the H formation into the two slip-T fittings on the nine-foot section of pipe, using primer and PVC cement.

Step 9

Attach one three-foot-long pipe between the slip-T on the left vertical support and the remaining cross opening on the left side of the H, using PVC primer and cement. Attach the remaining three-foot-long pipe between the slip-T on the right vertical support and the cross opening on the right side of the H.

Step 10

Insert the open ends of each seven-foot-long vertical support into the ground at least 12 inches.

Things You'll Need

1-inch-diameter PVC pipe

Measuring tape

Pipe cutter

2 90-degree PVC fittings

4 PVC slip-T fittings

2 PVC slip-cross fittings

PVC primer

PVC cement

References

The Family Handyman: How to Glue and Join PVC Plastic Pipe

Who Can Help

PVC Workshop: How to Measure, Cut and Glue PVC Pipe

Keywords:
PVC trellis, decorative garden trellis, making a trellis

About this Author

Katherine Kally is a freelance writer specializing in eco-friendly home improvement projects, practical craft ideas and cost effective decorating solutions. Kally's work has been featured on sites across the Web. She holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of South Carolina and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.